


Green Means Stay

by caskettcase



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: F/F, Fluff and Angst, Green Card Marriage, Humor, Slow Burn, So many tropes, and some smut eventually, bechloe - Freeform, fake marriage au, gotta love these aca idiots, road trip au, spoilers for pp2
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-24
Updated: 2017-12-28
Packaged: 2018-05-15 21:20:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5800516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caskettcase/pseuds/caskettcase
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>in which Chloe is from Canada, road trips aren’t always as glamorous as they’re painted to be, and I try not to take five hundred years to update. set in a post PP2 timeline. alternatively: the bechloe 'the proposal' au.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Well, hey Bechloe fandom! So this is my first work for this pairing. I've loved them since the first movie came out, and then that damn sequel drew me right back in, and they haven't really let go of my heart since. It's terrible really. So here I am, with this idea that I've had for the past couple weeks and won't go away. Because WHY NOT COMBINE ALL THE AU TROPES. Also, when the title popped into my head, it was basically game over. I'm kind of proud of that part. But anyway, without further ado, here's the first chapter of this fic! I really hope y'all like it. 
> 
> Oh, and the usual disclaimer: I do not own the Pitch Perfect franchise or any of the characters.

Chloe Beale was not a fan of needing people.

She was the lover, the provider, the encourager, the shoulder to cry on. She was well aware that her guard was lower than, well, everyone, in regards to physical boundaries. She knew that a squeeze of a hand or shoulder, a comforting hug, or hell, even jumping into someone’s shower and forcing them to sing, could have a positive impact.

Receiving those sorts of things was not something Chloe was against. But the level of commitment Chloe had to those she cared about was something that she constantly worried was not reciprocated. She would go to the wildest extent to help out her loved ones, but surely none of them were crazy enough to help her with something this big.

Surely there was no one who could solve the issue that lay in front of her on the Bellas mansion’s kitchen counter in the form of a letter from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services.

_Dear Miss Beale,_

_Based on the documents you have submitted to us, and the information elicited in your interview with an American Consular Officer, we were not able to issue you a temporary work visa…_

It was all she needed to read before grabbing the offending piece of paper to keep any of the other girls from seeing it and stomping off to her room, hiding the paper under her pillow and collapsing onto her bed.

Another downside of graduation.

Not only would she no longer be a Bella, but she would no longer be in the same country as the Bellas. Her family.

_This has been my family for seven years…_

_Yeah, because you’re too afraid to leave!_

She remembered Beca’s words from the retreat all too well. It was true. The Bellas had literally been her family while her own was back in Vancouver. Of course she was afraid to leave, afraid to lose that.

Damn technicalities.

Had she been born just several miles south, this wouldn’t even be an issue. But she couldn’t exactly undo the past 24 years.

Although, that might be easier than whatever the alternative was now. 

It wasn’t that Chloe didn’t love where she was from. It was a great place, really. But for seven years, she’d realized she fit the Southern Belle persona to a T and relished in the warm temperatures of Barden.

Aubrey was nearby, her a cappella friends were here.

Beca was here.

Her heartbeat fluttered a bit as that thought came to her mind. She didn’t want to leave the person most important to her.

But just as soon as that thought came, Chloe stopped listening to the erratic pounding of her heart as she heard a soft knocking on the door.

“Come in.”

Emily poked her head in with a smile.

“Hey, we’re all going to leave for the party in about fifteen minutes. You’re coming, right?”

Right.

With a Worlds victory and diplomas under most of the Bellas’ belts now, and cardboard boxes and crates starting to gather, signaling the moving out of most of them, they (mostly Amy) had decided that one last party at the Trebles’ house was absolutely necessary. She’d been about to finish getting ready when she’d gotten the mail.

“Yeah, Em, just have to touch up my makeup and put something on. I’ll be ready soon.”

Chloe was about to need a lot of her signature jiggle juice.

With a sigh, she threw on a different shirt over her jeans and walked into the bathroom, quickly applying and touching up her eye makeup before calling down to the girls in the living room that she was ready.

Beca was there to greet her at the bottom of the stairs, looking adorable as usual as she smiled at Chloe.

“Hey dude, where have you been? I haven’t seen you like all day,” Beca greeted.

Chloe forced a smile that she knew from the slight narrowing of Beca’s eyes that her best friend knew it was fake, but Beca knew better than to say anything.

“Yeah, just busy trying to pack, going around campus trying to say goodbye to professors and stuff.”

To put Beca at ease, Chloe looped her arm through Beca’s and led them out the door, a more genuine smile on her face now as she held onto Beca.

 _Drink now. Figure it out tomorrow,_ she thought. After all, it was one of the last times she could feasibly use that excuse now that college was over.

They walked to the Trebles’ house in mostly comfortable silence, a few of the girls expressing their excitement as they approached the reverberating bass of the music coming from the house, beer cans and Solo cups already littering the front porch as the Bellas made their way into the house, through the cacophony of people scream-singing ( _you’re going to give yourself nodes,_ Chloe thought as she walked by) in the kitchen, and out the back to the very crowded pool area.

She saw Jesse and Benji immediately bound—there was really no other way to describe it, they were little puppies—up to Beca and Emily. Benji awkwardly led Emily away and placed a kiss on her lips, while Beca and Jesse remained by one of the many kegs stationed around the outside of the house.

It seemed at least one Treble-Bella relationship was working out well, as Benji and Emily were soon running off to be more alone and stealing coy, excited glances at each other.

Ah, young love.

In the meantime, the grimace on Chloe’s face as her eyes shifted to Beca and Jesse was matched by Beca, who surreptitiously made eye contact with Chloe from behind her drink, as if begging for an out. Chloe only smirked before she was swept up in conversation by one of the younger Trebles.

She made a note to keep glancing over at Beca and her now ex-boyfriend, the two having split when Jesse went off the Los Angeles over the winter. The distance had only seemed to further prove what Beca had been thinking for months.

_“I just don’t wanna be around him anymore, Chlo. Like I get that you’re not going to be crazy about the person you’re with every day, and love is a choice and not necessarily a feeling and all that shit. But I don’t even think I like the guy anymore.”_

_Chloe had just nodded, trying her hardest not to give a biased perspective on the matter. Single Beca meant more time for her to spend with Chloe and the rest of the Bellas, so how could she not want to tell her best friend to dump the guy?_

_She had stayed as neutral as possible with her answer._

_“Well, him going out to LA will hopefully shed some more light on things.”_

And indeed it had. With a whole country in between the two of them for a few months, they were now on good terms, even if Beca did find him just a little more annoying now than she had while dating him.

But Chloe had completely zoned out on the poor Treble who was awkwardly trying to flirt with her, and the next thing she knew, Stacie was at her side nudging her out of her memories.

“Hey,” Stacie greeted over the thrumming of the music. “Wanna grab some drinks inside with me?”

She nodded and smiled, following her friend back inside to the kitchen.

Luckily, there were far fewer people inside, and Chloe was able to hear Stacie much better when she said, “You know you don’t have to feel threatened by him anymore, right?”

Oh. That was not a subject she wanted to touch at all.

So she did what she did best in lots of situations. She just played dumb.

“Who?”

Stacie could see right through it though and rolled her eyes, replying, “Jesse. Beca hadn’t really been into him for the entire last year of their relationship. She certainly isn’t now.”

Oh, Chloe was aware. All too aware of that fact. And it’d messed with her head for far too long.

She loved Beca, she really did. As her best friend. And maybe it was from spending too much time online among hoards of fangirls "shipping" all the Bellas with each other _,_ but she certainly found Beca attractive. Who wouldn’t? Beca Mitchell was hot, and Chloe Beale was not one for denying herself the pleasure of enjoying beautiful things.

She didn't really know what that meant for herself. She certainly wasn't straight but had only pined after girls, even when she was younger. But she'd never acted on it. She'd never felt so strongly about another girl that it made her want to act.

But if she ever did get the chance to make out with Beca, she certainly wouldn’t say no.

But that was normal behavior.

Right?

“I don’t—“ Chloe began to respond, but the beginnings of her protest were only cut off by Stacie.

“We got here, he goes to talk to her like the little puppy boy he is, you get this annoyed look on your face and immediately go to the booze.”

Sure, seeing Beca with Puppy Boy despite them being broken up gave her an unnecessary feeling of jealousy in the pit of her stomach (she was just protective of Beca, that was all), but that was only a secondary reason for her wanting to drink. Going back to Canada was still very much at the forefront of her mind.

“Stace, really—“

“Seriously, are you two gonna bang or not? And did you completely miss the ‘come save me, Chlo’ eyes she was giving you when Jesse was talking to her?”

Chloe just shook her head.

“Stacie, you know how it is. It’s a meaningless little crush. Admiration more than anything. We’re never going to be anything more than best friends.”

Stacie quirked an eyebrow, asking, “And is that enough?”

It was just a meaningless crush. The second time she’d met the girl, they’d both been naked and singing her damn _lady jam._ Of course it was almost impossible for Chloe not to think of her that way sometimes. Of course she realized they were closer than a lot of best friend pairs. But Chloe just chalked it up to her being a naturally touchy-feely person. She was like that with all the girls.

Her heart just didn’t race whenever she laced her fingers into anyone’s hand but Beca’s.

But she shook off the thought as soon as it came.

“It’s been enough for the past four years. It’s enough for now.”

Stacie sighed, saying, “Chloe, you’ve barely been on a date since you broke up with Tom, and that was how long ago?”

Chloe shifted uncomfortably, scanning the thinned-out crowd around the kitchen and living room area, suddenly feeling very self-conscious.

“I’ve been busy. With school. With the Bellas. After that first ICCAs win, I didn’t want anything less than what we had. So dating kind of took a back seat.”

Stacie bit her lip, leaning closer to Chloe and whispering, “Or you just want to get all up in Beca’s back seat.”

The redhead could only give her friend an incredulous look, before sputtering, “That doesn’t even…that barely makes sense, Stacie.”

Stacie only shrugged. “All I’m saying is I’m pretty sure the sexual tension is going to kill us all, and it’s making me extremely hor—“

“Stacie!”

The taller girl shrugged and motioned toward the zipper of her tight jeans. “I’m just saying. The Hunter cannot be satisfied lately.”

Everyone had made jokes about it for the past couple years—sexual tension this and “is it Bloe or Bechloe?” that, and they’d all made not-so-veiled comments one day when Beca mentioned that she and Chloe were going to get an apartment together after graduation. Their friends made it hard not to notice that they were not-so-secretly “shipping” the two of them, but surely it was just all in good fun.

Right?

“You can’t tell me you don’t think there’s more than a slight possibility that Beca is into you.”

Chloe opened her mouth to reply, but there was really nothing to say.

In a perfect world, why wouldn’t Chloe want to be with her best friend? They did everything together. Surely actually _being_ together would be wonderful.

But this was far from a perfect world.

Chloe Beale was not in love with her best friend. It was just a meaningless crush. It was what she’d been telling herself since she felt the inexplicable drop of her stomach seeing Beca kiss Jesse after their first ICCAs win, and it was what she would continue to tell herself, in Canada or Barden or LA or anywhere. She would be content just being Beca’s best friend and roommate. Nothing more.

“Stacie, as much as I appreciate the pep talk, that’s really not why I’m upset right now.”

Chloe didn’t want to talk about either subject, but she figured that Stacie digging into her psyche would be more painful than the alternative of stating actual facts.

“Then what else could it be?”

“Plenty of things!” Chloe huffed loudly, quieting down when she realized she was receiving stares from a few of the party-goers nearby. She continued in a hushed tone, “My world does not revolve around Beca and the Bellas.”

Stacie gave Chloe a knowing look that said _you’ve intentionally failed a class that you should have aced three times to stay with us._ Chloe only rolled her eyes.

“Okay, fine, but that’s still not what I’m thinking about.”

Stacie nodded, seeming to take her at her word, and replied, “You don’t have to tell me what it is, but if I can help, I will, Chloe.”

Chloe Beale hated needing people. But just telling Stacie what was going on didn’t implicate that she needed help. And she’d rather talk about that than Beca. She let out a sigh, a lump in her throat forming as she thought about having to break the news not only to Stacie, but to everyone else.

“I’m being deported,” Chloe replied, just loud enough for Stacie to hear.

Stacie’s eyes went wide, her jaw dropping as she all but screeched, “You’re what?”

Chloe clapped a hand over her mouth, shushing her and then grabbing Stacie with her free hand by the arm, tugging her out down the hallway and out the front door of the house.

“I got a letter today from Immigration Services,” Chloe said once they’d sat down on the front porch. “My green card’s expired, and because I’ve graduated now and really have no plausible reason to stay, I’m being sent back to Vancouver.”

Stacie groaned, throwing her face into her hands. “Chlo, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry, oh my god. And here I’ve been word vomiting and teasing you about Beca—I’m sorry.”

Chloe smiled weakly and rubbed Stacie’s shoulder until the girl looked at her. “Stacie, there’s no way you could have known. Really, it’s fine. I just don’t know what I’m going to do.”

“So is going back not really an option for you?”

She shrugged. “I would seriously prefer not to. I love my family, you know that. But this is home. Barden is home. Why do you think I failed Russian Lit to be a Bella three times? It’s not like I wouldn’t be a Bella but could still see you all the time. I’d not be a Bella and not be anywhere near you guys.”

“Right. Everyone and everything you’ve cared about for the past seven years has been here…Aubrey, the Bellas… Beca.”

No, she was stopping that thought train before it even started again.

“Stacie...”

Her friend held up her hands in surrender, quickly saying, “Sorry, sorry. I just meant how the two of you were planning to get an apartment together.”

Chloe only groaned as she thought about having to break the news for Beca—for multiple reasons. She was possibly moving away from her best friend and roommate, and she didn’t want to have to put the burden of looking for a new place to live and possibly look for a new roommate on Beca either.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do. I mean Beca and I were going to move in together, and she was going to keep working at Residual Heat while I found a job here.”

“So you haven’t told her yet?”

Chloe shook her head. “No, not yet.”

Stacie placed a comforting hand on Chloe’s knee, forcing her to look up at her.

“First chance you get, you need to. The longer you wait, the more panic it’s only going to cause.”

“Yeah. Yeah I know.”

Stacie moved the hand on Chloe’s knee to around her friend’s shoulder, allowing Chloe’s head to rest against hers as they sat in silence for a few moments.

Stacie finally let Chloe out of her grasp after giving her one last squeeze, rising to her feet and saying, “I’ll let you sit out here for a bit and compose yourself, okay? I’m gonna go back inside.”

Chloe nodded, turning to zone out counting the tiles of sidewalk across the front lawn. She tried to focus on anything other than everything that had just transpired but was finding it impossible. Her mind was already playing out all the possible scenarios of breaking the news to Beca, one in particular taking a turn for the romantic as she allowed her mind to wander.

Chloe groaned and placed her head in her lap, softly banging her head on her knees.

Just a stupid crush. That she now couldn’t stop thinking about as she thought about having to leave Beca behind.

She’d been sitting and staring into the street for about ten minutes, her drink finished as she chewed on the rim of the cup nervously. She barely heard the door open and turned around when she heard a familiar voice call out, “Didn’t realize the life of the party was out here.”

Chloe craned her neck to see the object of her thoughts standing behind her, a drink in each hand.

“You okay?” Beca asked cautiously, coming to sit beside her.

Chloe just smiled weakly. “Yeah, I’m good.”

“Brought you another drink,” Beca replied, offering her another cup of whatever concoction Amy and Bumper had thrown together in a punch bowl.

She wordlessly took the drink as Beca offered, “You know, for someone who’s just accomplished her year-long goal of aca-world domination, you don’t look too thrilled. I thought that high was going to last you at least a solid couple months.”

Chloe forced a laugh, shaking her head.

“No, trust me I’m still very happy that we destroyed Kommissar. Guess I’m just not in the biggest party mood tonight.”

“Spoken like a true college graduate,” Beca quipped.

Another hollow chuckle from Chloe, and then the two fell into an awkward silence.

“So…,” Beca trailed off. The girl had never been good at diffusing awkward silences. Which usually wasn’t something she had to worry about with Chloe.

“Pretty pumped about this apartment, huh?” Beca finally finished, probably saying the first thing that came to her mind to make conversation.

It just happened to be the only conversation piece that wasn’t safe, and Chloe could feel her armor cracking bit by bit.

“For someone who hated a cappella four years ago and thought it was the lamest shit ever, who would’ve thought I’d be willingly living with my aca-BFF?” Beca joked, nudging Chloe with her shoulder.

But Chloe remained unmoved, not even bothering to fake a smile or look at Beca.

And the words rushed out of her before she could give it a second thought.

“Beca, we need to talk.”

Chloe’s gaze remained locked on her shoes, while Beca turned to her and placed her drink down, stuttering, “Oh, uh… okay. You sure you’re okay?”

Chloe’s lip began to quiver, and she wondered if maybe this was a little like how Beca felt when she had the burden of her secret internship weighing on her.

Except this was about a hundred times heavier.

Beca must have seen Chloe’s now glossed over eyes and decided to use her best defense against sadness—her humor.

“Hey, hey. Is the thought of living with me really that repulsive?”

Beca placed an arm around her friend’s shoulder as she said it, willing Chloe to look up at her.

Chloe could only meet Beca’s eyes for a second before turning away again.

“No, no… It’s, it’s not living with you.”

They fell into silence again as Chloe tried (and failed) to compose herself.

“Chlo, what’s going on?” Beca finally whispered when she saw a single tear fall from Chloe’s eyes.

Chloe let out a shaky breath, barely meeting Beca’s dark blue eyes again. “You know the whole thing where I’m not exactly a US citizen?”

Beca shrugged and said, “Yeah, but you have a green card, right?”

Chloe looked away again, twisting her lips in that way she did whenever she felt defeated.

“You have a—,” Beca went on, realization dawning. “Oh my god. Did something happen?”

Chloe’s reply came out in a hoarse whisper. “I got a letter today from Immigration Services that my green card wasn’t renewed. I have to go back to Vancouver.”

Another silence fell over the two of them, this one more tense than the previous ones. Chloe glanced at Beca, trying to get a read on her, but her face was blank.

“Oh,” was all she could say, barely audible to Chloe.

And then Chloe broke, her hand coming over her mouth to try to muffle the sob that ripped through her, but the tears only began to fall harder, Beca’s arm wrapping around her waist.

“I don’t want to go, Becs,” she choked out.

Chloe fell into Beca’s side, turning to hide her face in the crook of her neck, and Beca only held her tighter.

Chloe could feel Beca swallow and let out a few shaky breaths before answering.

“We’re going to figure something out, okay? We always do. I promise.”

Chloe Beale was not a fan of needing people.

She was the lover, the provider, the encourager, the shoulder to cry on. She was well aware that her guard was lower than, well, everyone, in regards to physical boundaries. She knew that a squeeze of a hand or shoulder, a comforting hug, or hell, even jumping into someone’s shower and forcing them to sing, could have a positive impact.

Receiving those sorts of things was not something Chloe was against. But the level of commitment Chloe had to those she cared about was something that she constantly worried was not reciprocated. She would go to the wildest extent to help out her loved ones, but surely none of them were crazy enough to help her with something this big.

But there was no way she could get out of this one alone.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't think y'all understand how mind-blown I am by how popular that first chapter was...LIKE WHAT EVEN GUYS. But, as a result, it's made me work like crazy to get the next chapter up in record time! I can't always guarantee updates will be this fast, because well, life happens, but I promise to try to update as quickly as I can even with my crazy schedule. Seriously you guys. Thank you so so much for all the love thus far. I'm so grateful. Also! Keep letting me know what side-pairing you want! I have two votes for Staubrey and one for Jaubrey. I'm really cool with writing any side-pairing so throw them out there. Also! I posted this before giving it a final proofread because I was so eager to get it up, so I'll go back and fix it later.

Beca tapped a pen against her knee in time to the beat of “What Do You Mean?” trying to figure out what she could possibly mix the song with.

 _You're so indecisive of what I'm saying_  
_Trying to catch the beat, make up your heart_  
_Don't know if you're happy or complainin_ g

As the song continued to play, her mind kept drifting; she kept zoning out.

Distractions.

There were way too many, and not even her noise-cancelling headphones could get rid of the distractions in her own head.

_Don't want for us to end  
Where do I start_

Beca’s heart clenched a little at the lines as they resonated with her.

Everything was ending, and as much as she had wanted to ditch Barden the first chance she had gotten four years ago, this had become her family, she’d found her place, and she’d found success. And now that wild independence she had had years ago had waned a bit; she had become comfortable in the day-to-day of college life.

She had hoped that living with Chloe after college and easily being able to maintain her friendship with the girl would help her keep some of the normalcy that she’d found.

But even Chloe was ending.

Chloe had never mentioned that she’d had any citizenship problems—Beca was well-aware of where the girl was from, and made plenty of jokes about how her country of origin explained a lot about her personality, but Beca had never thought that it would be an issue.

Beca had told her, basically promised her that they’d figure it out, but she didn’t even know where to begin.

But she couldn’t lose her.

Chloe was her best friend.

Chloe was familiar as they both went out into the world of unfamiliars.

Beca suddenly understood why Chloe had been so reluctant to leave.

She sighed, closing out of her tabs upon tabs of mixing software and opening Google, typing in “green cards,” then opening another Google tab and typing in “ways for Canadians to stay in the United States,” and then one more, where she just typed, “US citizenship.”

“Hey Becs.”

Beca quickly minimized the screen and peered up to see Stacie leaning on the door way.

“Stacie, what can I do for you?”

She smirked, almost sauntered her way into the room and stood at the end of Beca’s bed.

“You talk to Chloe at all today?”

Beca frowned, confused at her friend’s odd behavior—well, more odd than usual for Stacie. The girl was much smarter than she appeared to the outside world, but surely she wasn’t crazy enough to try to come on to Beca…and then start by talking about Chloe?

“Yeah, a little. Why?”

Stacie gave Beca a pointed look.

Oh.

Duh.

This whole Canada news had really scrambled her brain.

Stacie was obviously here for the same reason that Beca was trying to hide on her computer screen.

She nodded in realization and replied, “Right, you’re talking about Vancouver. Yeah, she told me last night at the party.”

Stacie hummed in reply. “That why you both disappeared last night?”

_They’d been sitting together for about fifteen minutes, Chloe’s sobs slowly subsiding, and Beca working to keep her tears at bay. Beca slowly pulled back from their embrace, her shoulder wet with salty tears, and she hooked a finger under Chloe’s chin. Beca could see the tracks of Chloe’s tears reflecting from the porch lights and gently ran a thumb over her cheek to wipe away the tears, causing Chloe’s eyes to flutter closed briefly as she smiled._

_“Thank you, Becs,” she mumbled, voice hoarse from crying so hard._

_“Hey, I’m here for you. Wanna head back inside in a bit or do you wanna go home?”_

_Chloe started to rise and pulled Beca up with her._

_“Let’s just go home. I’m really tired, and I just don’t want anyone asking what’s wrong right now.”_

_Beca nodded in understanding, grabbing Chloe’s hand and linking it with hers as she pulled her in the direction of the Bellas house._

“Yeah, she was pretty upset, so I took her back, and after that she just wanted to be alone. So I just stayed up for awhile mixing in case she needed anything.”

Stacie grinned and in a sing-song voice responded, “Well, that was sweet of you.”

“Well, she’s my best friend, Stace. What did you expect?”

Beca could tell that she wanted to force the issue, but she must have thought against it as all she said was, “True. So what are you gonna do?”

She had no clue. How much power did any of them even have in this situation? The most likely option once the denial period wore off (probably more likely that that would happen by Chloe being forcibly removed from than the country than for that to come naturally) was to come to terms with the fact that Beca would have to find a new roommate, and her best friend would be across the continent instead of across the hall.

_Hell, maybe she’d just go to LA._

Oh.

That was not a thought Beca asked for. She wouldn’t do that. There were certainly more reasons to stay in Atlanta besides Chloe. It’s not like she was staying for—

Beca refocused when she felt a pen from her  desk smack the side of her face while Stacie awaited an answer.

“Quit thinking about kissing Chloe and focus.”

“I’m not—“

Whatever. Not worth getting into this argument right now.

Beca sighed, running her hands through her hair. “What can I do? I can’t exactly infiltrate the US government and try take over Immigration and keep her here.”

Stacie shrugged and casually replied, “I mean, if you wanted to try, I’d be down to help.”

Beca let out a small chuckle. “I appreciate the enthusiasm, but I don’t think that’s a feasible option here.”

“Come on, we could call it Operation: Oh, Canada, have cool code names—you could be Maple Leaf, and I could be Lumberjack. Or you should be Lumberjack, with all the flannel.”

“You guys act like my entire wardrobe is made up of flannels.”

Stacie stepped away from the edge of Beca’s bed and began rifling through her closet.

“It’s gotta make up at least fifty percent.”

“Stacie, cut it out.”

The leggy brunette turned and smirked, closing the closet doors again and returning to lean against the edge of Beca’s bed.

“Stacie, I don’t know that we can get out of this one. I mean, yeah, getting the Bellas reinstated was quite the challenge, but this is way bigger. I don’t know.”

Stacie rounded the end of Beca’s bed, nudging her knee away from her pillows so she could come sit next to the girl and see her laptop.

“Well, here, let’s just Google it and—“

Stacie reached for the Google Chrome box on the bottom of the screen before Beca could stop her, revealing her multiple Google pages on green cards.

Stacie pulled back with a mischievous grin.

“Are you researching green cards?”

Beca would never admit that her she was blushing, but her face suddenly felt very warm. But she didn’t even bother satisfying Stacie with a response.

“You are such a softie!” Stacie squealed. Literally squealed. “Who would have thought that you’d be trying to keep the girl who busted into your shower four years ago!”

_Keep the girl._

Beca perked up at the way Stacie phrased that. Surely, she didn’t mean anything by it (although, it was Stacie, and her intentions could sometimes be questionable), but it implied an ownership.

Like Chloe was hers, and she was desperate to keep her.

She threw that thought out as quickly as it came.

Beca found that she was having a lot of thoughts like that lately.

Or maybe longer than lately. More like for the past four years.

Whatever.

“Whatever. My productivity levels for mixing are low right now, so I figured I’d try to do something else for a little while.”

“Whatever you say, short stack,” Stacie threw over her shoulder as she rose from Beca’s bed, almost skipping out of Beca’s room.

Surely no good could from that gleam in Stacie’s eyes.

 

* * *

 

 Chloe could faintly hear the closing of Beca’s door and footsteps coming down the hall but ignored them, only turning her music up louder as she browsed puppy pictures on Pinterest.

Anything to try to cheer her up.

Without warning, her door opened to reveal a beaming Stacie.

“Hey, Chlo.”

She sighed, removing the earbuds and returning her greeting with a soft smile.

“Stacie, hey. What’s up?”

“Nooooothing,” she replied, swaying her hips in a playful way.

So, obviously, it was anything but nothing.

“Okay, what is going on? You have that look on your face when the Hunter is going to pounce or you have a diabolical idea. Or both.”

Stacie only smirked in response.

“I’m serious, Stacie. You wouldn’t have burst into my room unannounced otherwise.”

She feigned a hurt look and held her hands over her chest, crying dramatically, “You wound me, Beale!”

Chloe only shot her friend an annoyed look and reached for her headphones once again until she heard Stacie speak again.

“Just thought you’d like to know I walked in on Beca trying to find ways to keep you in the US.”

She dropped her earbuds back to her lap, staring ahead at one particularly cute Golden Retriever puppy in a bathtub.

“Oh.”

Cute as the dog was, Chloe knew that any hope for distraction was out the window for awhile now that Stacie was here. Now that Stacie was here telling her things like that.

“And you had to come in here immediately to tell me that because…?”

Stacie had that look on her face again—the “Hunter” look, they’d all called it. It just wasn’t very often that Stacie hunted for two other people to be together.

Which wouldn’t happen anyway.

Because it was just a stupid crush.

Even if Beca did want her to stay and was actively trying to do that, it didn’t mean anything.

Beca wasn’t the best with words, but she showed her affection through gestures. But she’d probably do the same for any of the other Bellas.

It was just a stupid crush.

“Stacie, let it go,” she huffed. “She does not have feelings for me.”

Stacie only shook her head. “I’ll take it to my grave that you’re wrong.”

“Stacie…”

“I’m just saying.”

“Why are you trying so hard to make this happen?” she asked before she could even think about she was saying. Chloe couldn’t tell if she was more annoyed that she said it or more annoyed at how obviously agitated and affected she was by Stacie’s asking.

Her friend sighed, and with a softer, more genuine tone, replied, “You really can’t tell me you guys don’t see what we do. You can claim that she cares about all of us, and she does, but you’re special to her, Chloe. The way she looks at you when you’re not looking? All the effort she’s put into this group? She spent more time with you than she ever did with Jesse. Really. As much as I’m messing with you, I’m also serious. You basically broke Beca Mitchell, Chloe. Open your eyes.”

Well, of course their friendship had been emotionally beneficial. That was one of the perks of friendship. And as adept as Stacie was at these things, she wasn’t sure she could believe her. Maybe it was just some sick fantasy that Stacie had in her head that she wanted to see play out in real life. Or maybe she was right, but it was just all accidental. Maybe Chloe and Beca just had a deeper bond than the vast majority of the rest of people.

Or maybe Chloe’s crush wasn’t just a stupid crush.

But—

She’d basically given Beca an opportunity. In the tent at the retreat, Chloe was mostly joking and high on the feeling of having Beca so close to her, and she couldn’t help but mess with a very fired-up Beca. Even if at the end of the day, she meant what she said.

_“You know, one of my biggest regrets is that I didn’t do enough experimenting in college.”_

_“You’re so weird.”_

When Beca had swiftly turned away from her, it almost felt a little like rejection.

But she ignored it.

She also swore she’d seen Beca staring at her lips in the middle of the conversation.

But she ignored that too.

Chloe just shook her head.

“I don’t know, Stace. It’s complicated, you know? And I know people say that all the time, but it really is…I was going to be her roommate, and now I’m being deported, and yeah, I’m obviously attracted to her, so there’s just a lot to consider here. I don’t want to mess up my friendship with her over a stupid crush.”

Because it was. It was just a _stupid crush._

Stacie seemed to be deep in thought for a moment, only to break out in a grin just a few moments later.

“What?”

“Ever seen the movie _The Proposal_?” Stacie asked, as if the obvious meaning behind the question was completely casual.

Chloe reached for a small pillow and chucked it at her friend’s face.

“Oh my god, please shut up.”

It appeared that Stacie’s sincerity had only made a short-lived appearance, until her friend continued.

“Think about it! It could work! And then you two can fall in love, and Bechloe will be together forever!”

“Stacie, please—“

“In all seriousness though, a green card marriage might be an option here. You two are already planning to live together, you’ll get tax benefits from being married, and you’d get to stay while in the meantime you can get your citizenship sorted out. It’s really not a bad deal, Chloe.”

Oh, so she was being serious.

As much as it all sounded like a joke, Stacie Conrad was actually providing her with evidence as to why she should marry Beca Mitchell.

Certainly not something she’d been expecting, even just last week. Or half an hour ago.

And Stacie had a good point. She and Beca already had an apartment. They were already close. The only difference was that they would have to act like a couple.

Which, according to everyone else in the world, they already did. Even if that wasn’t intended.

But even as seamless as this would seem to be in theory, Chloe knew in reality there was much more than that.

“So what, we lie to our friends and families? And have to give up dating?”

Stacie groaned in annoyance, nearly yelling, “You have not dated in forever because you’re too busy undressing Beca with your eyes!”

Chloe’s eyes widened at this. “Stacie, keep it down!”

“Not denying it, I see,” Stacie shot back.

“That is not true, and you know it.”

Stacie grinned deviously for a few moments longer before sobering and saying, “Seriously though, you know at this point in time you two are going to be focusing on your careers. And honestly, if it becomes that much of an issue, pretend you’re swingers or some shit. Or just be honest with the person if you meet someone you like.”

If Chloe really wanted to stay, marrying Beca may have been the best option. Best option as far as objective logic went. As far as matters of her heart—

“I just don’t—“

Stacie cut Chloe off before she could finish. “Just think about it.”

But the red head just shook her head. “I could never put Beca in that position, Stacie.”

“I think you guys could work it out.”

“Well, that’s not really for me to decide.”

“No, you’re right,” Stacie responded. “It’d be for both of you to decide. But the only way it can even be a possibility is if someone brings it up.”

And with that, Stacie shrugged her shoulders, turned on her heel and started singing “It Takes Two” under her breath.

“Stacie, we are not living in The Proposal! Stop singing that song!”

 

* * *

 

Two days after Stacie had bombarded Chloe and Beca, she sat with the rest of the Bellas in the living room as the two “aca-lesbians” (Amy’s words, not hers) were out for their weekly dinner date.

 _And they seriously didn’t see what everyone else did?_ She thought.

Stacie was well aware that she was coming on strongly. But it had been an understanding between her and Cynthia Rose specifically that if those two didn’t at least drunkenly kiss before graduation, then someone would have to step in and at least make them realize they were perfect for each other.

That had been three years ago.

But Beca had stayed with Puppy Boy out of convenience, while Chloe spent every waking moment with Beca that she possibly could.

(The tension when Chloe and Jesse were in the Bellas house together was almost as bad as the sexual tension between Chloe and the poor guy’s girlfriend.)

In all the time that she’d known the two of them, she’d never seen either of them so comfortable around anyone else. Hell, Stacie had never seen Chloe that comfortable around even _Aubrey._ And that was when she knew—Cynthia Rose and Amy had jokingly started a bet after ICCAs their freshman year when Chloe drunkenly told them the story about how she convinced Beca to join the Bellas in the first place, but after realizing the amount of tension that was building between the two, the entire group (and a few of the Trebles, Bumper in particular putting down a rather large sum on the two) had placed bets on them.

Chloe had since sat all the girls down and told them what was happening, which was met mostly with stunned silence, and then a quip from Amy about how “God was punishing her again for being a ginger” to try to break the awkward silence. (It didn’t work very well.)

So Stacie texted all the girls—sans Beca and Chloe—to tell them that they had important Bechloe-related business to attend to this coming Friday night.

Which led to Stacie in the middle of the room while the rest of the girls sat on the furniture as Stacie began to explain “Operation Oh Canada.”

“Okay ladies,” Stacie began, calling everyone to attention. “The time has come to enact Operation Oh Canada in order to try to find a way to help Chloe stay in the United States.”

Amy rose her hand and said, “In this scenario, can we have code names?”

Cynthia Rose pulled up the note she had saved on her phone from Stacie the other day. “We have here that Stacie will be Maple Leaf, Beca is Lumberjack, and Chloe has to be something else involving lumber. Other than that, the options are open if you so choose.”

“Can I be Bieber? He’s from Canada, after all,” Amy reasoned.

“Of course, Amy,” Stacie replied.

“How about Red Pine for Chloe? You know. It’s lumber and… well, red,” this came from Ashley.

“Brilliant, Jess!”

The poor girl didn't even bother to correct her, while Cynthia Rose nodded her approval and added the name to the list. (Having a specific note for this plan on their phones wasn’t at all going too far, right?)

“So I came up with a crazy but not impossible idea,” Stacie began. “I talked to Chloe a few days ago about what she planned on doing, and then it hit me—we could pull a _Proposal_ where Beca and Chloe are our Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock.”

Some laughter and a lot of high-pitched squeals sounded throughout the room.

“But how are we going to convince them of that?” Ashley asked.

"Whomp them with pillows until they agree," offered Amy. 

Stacie swore she heard Lilly whisper amidst all the chatter, “I once convinced a squirrel to attack my brother using only my mind.”

Okay. Not helpful.

“See, that’s the problem,” Stacie said, answering the original question. “Chloe didn’t seem terribly against it, though.”

“I mean, all we can do really is push the benefits of it, the main one of course being that Chloe would get to stay here,” Emily added.

“It’s true, Legacy,” Stacie continued. “Chloe said logically, it makes sense, but in reality, it may prove to be difficult.”

“Are you saying that she’s not completely blind to the sexual tension?” Emily asked.

Stacie smirked and went on. “She did admit to having a “stupid crush” on Beca. But that remains a secret.”

Very squeals and exclamations of delight filled the room at the news, while Amy just crossed her arms, rolled her eyes, and said, “Finally.”

Over all the whoops and hollers, Stacie didn’t hear the door unlocking and went on.

“I think the real challenge will be convincing Beca.”

Of course she said it just as the door opened, revealing a very confused looking Beca and Chloe.

“What are we trying to convince me of?” the subject of the conversation asked, stepping into the room, Chloe close behind.

Stacie froze.

“Portia and Ellen! So nice of you to join us. How was your date?”

Nice save, Amy. _Nice._

Stacie shot the girl a pointed looked, but she only shrugged.

Beca rolled her eyes and groaned, “It’s not a date. And stop calling us that!”

“She calls us that regularly?” Chloe chimed in, almost looking, dare Stacie say it, amused.

Beca huffed like a petulant child, and ranted, “Yes. Quite regularly. That or Bloe. Which just sounds terrible.”

“You seem so offended that someone would suggest that the two of us were on a date. I’m hurt,” Chloe joked.

Stacie had always noticed this—in front of a crowd, high on the energy of the room, Chloe was much more willing to be openly flirtatious with Beca. But in private, whether it was Chloe and Stacie talking about Beca, or likely Beca and Chloe (considering that nothing had happened between the two of them), she was much more timid.

When Chloe didn’t think about it, she could run head-first into the dance they did. But when Stacie or anyone drew her attention to the serious part of the matter, she shut down, didn’t know how to respond.

The whole dynamic was fascinating, really.

Stacie’s attention was brought back to the interaction in the living room when she heard Beca speak up.

“Okay, good try, but you can’t weasel your way out of this. What were you guys talking about when we walked in?”

Amy, Cynthia Rose, and Stacie all exchanged looks, not knowing how to proceed. She’d forced their hand, and unless one of them came up with a damn good lie, they were going to have to explain.

And the longer they put it off, the more dire a situation Chloe’s citizenship would become.

So Stacie bit the bullet.

“I think you two should probably sit down for this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos, comment, bookmark? Seriously, you guys are the best. Outlining the next chapter already, so I'll have it to you in a week or less I think!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy. Heckles. Is it weird that I'm a little emotional over you guys and all the love? Seriously though, 112 kudos and over 1000 hits for two chapters? I seriously never expected anything like this for any fic I would write ever. Like, seriously, to be completely candid, thank you for all this because it seriously makes me want to churn out chapters as fast as I can. Also, thank you to my wonderful idea people, bambi1994 and theladyofthedarkcastle (who is also my bomb-ass beta). Also! If you're a HIMYM fan, there's a little fun reference in here for you. And if you haven't, don't worry, it's really not all that relevant in the grand scheme of things. So, without further ado, here is chapter three!

“I think you two should probably sit down for this.”

Beca shot Stacie a concerned and confused look from the doorway, the panic on Stacie’s face not being lost on the other girl, clearly.

“My god, who’s dying?” Beca asked as she came into the living room and squeezed onto a couch next to Cynthia Rose, Chloe trailing behind her and sitting on the arm of the couch, hand on Beca’s shoulder to balance her.

“Your heterosexuality,” Amy quipped, eyes darting back and forth between the pair.

Beca shot a look up to Chloe, who was looking back at Stacie with worried eyes. Stacie could see the wheels turning in Chloe’s head, and Stacie’s stomach twisted a bit.

God, this really was a little awkward.

No wonder it’d taken the group so long to stage what was basically an informal intervention.

You know, with marriages and citizenships involved. Totally casual.

“I’m sorry, what is going on here?” Beca asked.

“Stacie what—“ Chloe began to speak but was cut off by Emily.

“We’re just trying to help you guys!” she nervously blurted out.

The poor freshman was sitting across from Beca and Chloe, tugging at her shirt to get some cool air hitting her body. 

Fat Amy saw this and rolled her eyes. “Legacy, you’re bouncing more than a baby kangaroo. Calm down.”

“I’m sorry, this is just getting awkward, and…”

“Well, yeah, saying something is awkward typically makes it more awkward. Does anyone want to tell Chloe and me what’s going on?”

Chloe turned to Beca, who was staring expectantly at Stacie, whose eyes darted between Emily, Cynthia Rose, and Fat Amy.

Maybe this wasn’t the best idea.

And then she saw the hand on Beca’s shoulder slide along to the back of her neck, Chloe’s hand gently scratching the fine hairs at the top of her neck to calm Beca down.

Never mind.

Those two were idiots who needed to see the light.

So what the hell.

“We’ve been trying to think of ways to help Chloe.”

Stacie wasn’t sure what kind of reaction she was expecting, but Beca sat there just looking confused about how this could possibly be something that she’d needed to sit down for, while Chloe just looked moved by the gesture of her friends.

“You guys really don’t have to do that,” the redhead said. “We’ll figure something out.”

Cynthia Rose cleared her throat and spoke up. “See that’s just the thing. We did.”

Chloe met Stacie’s eyes hopefully, but when Stacie shot the girl a grimace that almost looked like an apology, her eyes widened, and she looked shocked.

“We were thinking that Chloe could do a green card marriage,” Stacie finally said after giving Chloe a few moments to let her realization set in.

“Are you guys insane?” Beca replied. “You can’t just set Chloe up with some rando—“

Stacie sighed, cutting her off. “But it wouldn’t be with someone random.”

Beca continued to look at Stacie with confusion. Stacie just shrugged.

“What, is one of us going to do it?” Beca scoffed. “Right, because that’ll be believable.”

An awkward silence fell over the room for a few moments, and it was clear to Stacie that each girl was looking to her to figure out how to proceed. The thing was, she really didn’t know how to proceed. Any ideas of how she could say, “Yep! Surprise, Beca! We think you and Chloe could pull this off” had left her mind, and she was frozen.

Stacie shot Amy a look, nodding and willing her to continue for her.

“See that’s kind of the thing… It could be believable.”

Stacie watched as every pair of eyes in the room slowly settled on Beca, even Chloe finally turning toward her as she saw everyone else do it.

And then Beca sported a look of part-amusement, part-fear, and mostly “are you fucking kidding me?”

“Are you saying you want me and Chloe to do a green card marriage?”

Silence fell over the room again, and Beca’s eyes darted from Stacie to Chloe and then back to Stacie, but it was Amy who spoke first.

“She’s not freaking out as much as I thought she would,” she whispered. “Why is she not freaking out?”

“I know it sounds crazy,” Stacie began, “but you two were planning on living together anyway, you’re incredibly close, and you could pull it off better than anyone.”

“It’s that or the ginger gets deported,” Amy added.

Stacie watched as Beca ran a hand through her hand and sighed heavily, staring at the ground. And in that weird telepathy connection thing the two had, Chloe knew exactly what to say to help ease Beca.

“Beca, we don’t have to talk about this right now. It’s kind of a big decision, and I know practically, it makes sense, but—“

Beca cleared her throat and finished for her. “Yeah, I think… I think Chloe and I should talk about this ourselves, guys.”

Stacie and the rest of the girls nodded, seemingly waiting for Beca and Chloe to leave the room, but Beca must have been expecting the same of them, as she said, “You know, in private.”

Cynthia Rose scoffed. “Well, you got the whole upstairs. You expect all us to move?”

Beca sighed and rose from the chair, mumbling to Chloe “Come on,” and heading up the stairs.

Stacie couldn’t help but notice Beca reaching for Chloe’s hand to pull her up the stairs.

Idiots. Those two were idiots.

 

* * *

 

Beca would do anything for Chloe.

The girl was her best friend. Despite all the walls she came to Barden with, Chloe had zero regard for them and kept scaling until Beca had to let her in.

And it really hadn’t been all that bad. Now, of course, she couldn’t imagine life without her.

But marry her? She couldn’t do that. That’d just be…weird.

Once the pair had finally reached Chloe’s room and shut the door behind them, Beca whirled around and said, “Okay, so did that just happen or was I like having a stroke or something?”

“Beca—“

The brunette flopped down on Chloe’s bed and groaned.

“No I’m sorry. I just… That really caught me off guard? It’s not often you have all your friends telling you to marry your best friend so you can keep her in the country.”

Chloe tentatively came to sit beside Beca, laying down beside her as the two stared up at the ceiling.

Beca tried to think of something else to say to avoid the awkward silence that was surrounding them now, but what did she even say to all of this? It was just so much.

Beca didn’t even know why it was all so much. She was her friend, so she should just buck up and do it.

So why the hell did she even have any reservations about it?

The “Chloe was hers and be damned if anyone else would be as important to her as Beca” thought train came rushing into her mind again. Maybe it had something to do with that. But that had to just be because Beca was protective. And nothing else.

She was just protective of her friend. As such, she wanted her to stay. And having her possibly not being able to stay just evoked a strong reaction in Beca. It wasn’t weird. No matter how hard Amy and Stacie pushed “Bloe.”

“Stacie told me you were trying to look for ways to keep me here.”

Beca turned her head to see Chloe already looking at her, a soft smile of appreciation on her face.

It was weird, Beca thought, how well they could communicate without even using words. And more often than not in the past several months, she’d found it more and more disarming.

Because she and Jesse never had that.

She and Jesse never had a lot of the things her and Chloe had.

But female best friends are different than boyfriends. It didn’t mean anything.

“Oh—I—I mean this one—I didn’t exactly consider this one until this very moment,” Beca finally responded.

“So you’re considering it?” Chloe asked with raised eyebrows.

Beca turned her gaze back toward the ceiling, focusing on one of the blades of the fan as it went round and round. She was considering it, especially since she’d come to the conclusion that there was no logical reason that she should feel weird about it. She and Chloe had a strong friendship, and the Bellas were right—if anyone was going to make this work, it would probably be them.

“I don’t know.”

“Okay,” Chloe replied quietly. “Well we don’t have to talk about it right now if you don’t want to.”

Beca sat up and sighed. “No. I think we should. I just don’t want to put you in an awkward position here, Chlo.”

“Bec, if anyone’s in the awkward position here, it’s you. I’m the one who has to figure this out, not you.”

Beca shot Chloe one of her trademark half-smirk, half-smiles, poking the girl in the side repeatedly.

“You are not in this alone, Chloe.”

Chloe was staring back at her and smiling, her red hair fanned out all over her bed. The woman was gorgeous. Beyond that. Like, 12 out of 10.

Beca supposed pretending that her smoking hot best friend was actually her smoking hot wife could have its perks.

(Another thought she quickly pushed out of her head.)

“So what do we do?” Chloe asked.

“I don’t know. I mean, yeah, I guess there are benefits since we’re already living together, and the financial benefits. It’s just going to be hard lying to everyone about it. Like, the Bellas will know obviously. I suppose Aubrey and Jesse should too.”

“But I can’t really tell my family. Not yet, at least. I know they’d just try to convince me to come home and sort it out from there, but I just want to stay. And I don’t want them to be hurt if I tell them I don’t want to come back home.”

“And my family won’t know for awhile because we just don’t really talk,” Beca quipped.

Chloe chuckled. “What about your family back in Maine?”

Beca shrugged. “I’d probably clue in my mom. If anything, she’ll give me some sort of devious ideas to make it work even better. But still, there’s so many other people to keep the charade up with.”

“I know. And I’d hate to make you put your dating life on hold—“

“I don’t think that’ll really be an issue.”

Chloe sat up and gave Beca a confused look.

“What makes you say that?”

She shrugged. “I was in a dead-end relationship for three years, and that was no fun. I highly doubt anything awesome is going to come up really soon, you know? Besides, it’s not like we have to be married forever.”

See, that was a plus of this whole thing—it wasn’t a permanent arrangement. It was short-term, and it wasn’t like either of them were looking to settle down (for real) with anyone right away. It could work. They were best friends who could fool people into thinking they were married. Completely normal.

“True,” Chloe responded.

Beca remained quiet for a few more moments. It could work. It would work. In theory, there really was no reason for it not to.

“What are you thinking?” Chloe finally asked.

“I mean I guess this might work.”

“Why wouldn’t it?”

Beca stumbled over the words a bit. “No, I mean… I didn’t mean it like that. It’s not like there’s really any reason it wouldn’t. Because there’s not. A reason.”

She shouldn’t feel weird about it. She didn’t feel weird about it for the most part. But there was this feeling deep in the pit of her stomach that was impossible for her to name that made Beca wonder if there was something about this arrangement that may end up being a terrible decision.

But, like with all the other Chloe-related thoughts she’d been having lately, she pushed that one out of her mind as well.

 

* * *

 

Chloe just knew that Stacie would bring this up, and of course enlist the Bellas to help. Telling Stacie that she even found Beca at all attractive had clearly been a mistake. And as much as Chloe could use the help from her best friend right now, and as much as Chloe would be, in a way, getting everything she wanted, this was not the way to go about it.

No matter how much the fact that “marrying” Beca even being a possibility made her stomach flip.

“Beca, I really don’t want to pressure you into this if it’s too weird.”

“Well, we don’t have to do it if you don’t want to either!” Beca replied defensively. “You don’t seem too sold on it, so why are we having this conversation?”

“I mean, I think anyone would have doubts about a plan that involves lying to the American government,” Chloe deadpanned, and she smiled when she saw that it brought that smirk back to Beca’s face. “But I think it could work. Beca, I know we basically have to be Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock in this scenario, but if I were to do this, let’s be honest, it’d probably be most realistic with you.”

Beca seemed to be slowly considering it again, nodding to herself. It was adorable really, how Chloe could follow Beca’s train of thought by watching her expressions change.

It was about that time that Beca’s eyes grew wide in a deer-in-the-headlights realization.

“But we don’t… we’ve never…”

Beca gestured awkwardly between the two in a manner that made it impossible for Chloe to tell what she was trying to convey. But the blush on her cheeks and the way she refused to make eye contact with Chloe sold it for her.

“Last time I checked in order to sell that we’re married we won’t need to have sex in front of anyone.”

Beca’s hands dropped to her sides, her blush went deeper, and she still refused to look at Chloe.

So Chloe broke the tension by going back to the pattern that’d worked for them for years—harmless, shameless flirting.

It couldn’t hurt.

“Unless you’re into that,” Chloe continued with a wink.

Beca met Chloe’s eyes this time, her eyes still wide. Chloe couldn’t help but giggle at the girl’s reaction.

“You’re an ass,” Beca mumbled, poking her in the side. Chloe only smiled wider.

And then Chloe came up with an idea. A way to maybe make this whole arrangement less weird should Beca agree to it and completely eliminate any awkwardness. Because they could both benefit from this. And then it totally wouldn’t be weird.

Right?

“Look, maybe it’s not the most ideal option, but we could pull it off. And I know this is such a huge favor to ask of you, so please, at least let me make you some sort of deal. Anything at all, you name it.”

“Oh, so you’ll bail me out when I’m about to get deported and we can get married again?”

“Beca…”

“I’m joking. Wow, I mean, I guess I don’t really know what could live up to that level of needing a favor, you know?”

Chloe shrugged. This was a huge favor Beca was doing her. No need for her to rush into picking anything. She was completely fine with an IOU. “Well, you can think about it. Like I said—anything.”

Beca had an evil grin on her face when she opened her mouth to speak, and Chloe cut her off immediately.

“Anything that’s not illegal.”

Beca only grinned wider and laughed. “You do realize this whole arrangement isn’t the most kosher thing to be doing, right?”

Chloe fought back a smile. One point for Mitchell.

She nodded and replied, “Well, if you think of anything, let me know.”

Beca nodded thoughtfully and zoned out for a few moments, and Chloe took the liberty to lay back down on her bed and close her eyes momentarily.

“Wait,” Beca spoke up. “Don’t you have a cousin back in Canada who’s like, insanely good at discovering young talent? Could I maybe borrow him as a resource or have him hook me up with some young star of his to bring to Residual Heat?”

She perked up and sat up next to Beca again. “Oh yeah! Paul discovered Robin Sparkles when she was super young.”

Chloe couldn’t tell if the look on Beca’s face was affronted or just surprised. “ _Let’s Go to the Mall_ Robin Sparkles?”

She grinned. “Yes. And _PS I Love You Robin Daggers_.”

“Your home country is so weird,” Beca mumbled.

Chloe just shrugged and smiled. See? This wasn’t so weird. They both got good things out of it. Chloe got to stay in the country, and Beca got a chance to jump start her career already.

And Chloe got to continue to live out this stupid fantasy crush thing of hers.

“So if we go through with this, I will do whatever I have to make sure that Paul sends Residual Heat his best new talent. He’s good, Becs, really. Maybe not the best example there, but she was wildly popular for awhile!”

“Okay.”

Chloe whipped her head around to look at Beca. “Really? We’re going to do this.”

“I guess we are.”

The two sat in silence for a few moments, just looking at each other, and Chloe swore she saw Beca’s eyes momentarily flutter to her lips.

But it wouldn’t be the first time.

It was normal. It happened. She had just zoned out and needed somewhere else to look to refocus. No big deal.

Unfortunately, the thought of “marrying” Beca had been running through her mind on and off since Stacie had mentioned it, and one aspect in particular was a fake proposal. Chloe had thought about it more than she’d like to admit.

She figured they’d need a good method of comic relief after all the awkwardness. Surely this would help. That was the only reason she’d thought of it.

She just wanted to make Beca laugh.

So, high off the feeling of that momentary flicker of eyes to her lips, Chloe whispered, “Well, we have to make it official I guess.”

Cue Beca’s deer-in-the-headlights look returning.

“What?”

Chloe giggled at the misunderstanding. “No, no, no, not like that.”

She took a shaky breath, got up from the bed, and dropped to her knee in front of Beca.

The tiny brunette looked nothing but amused.

“Can’t wait to tell our families the story of how we first met,” Beca quipped.

“Love at first sight, right, _babe_?”

This was easy, the harmless pretend flirting. No one got hurt, and even though the rapid pulsing of Chloe’s heart in her body should have maybe told her otherwise, it was nothing. This was just normal Beca and Chloe. Best friends.

When Chloe didn’t bother replying, Beca grabbed her by the arm and said, “Actually, here, get up.”

“What are you doing?”

Beca pulled Chloe to her feet as she rose from the bed, her hand trailing down the readhead’s arm and linking their hands together.

Chloe’s heart almost stopped when Beca dropped to one knee in front of her.

“I have an addendum to this deal. You take my last name. Beca Beale doesn’t sound as nice.”

Chloe tried as hard as she could to avoid every thought related to _Chloe Mitchell_ and went back to the teasing instead.

“Oh come on! Think of all the possibilities for DJ names. DJ BB Gun. DJ BB-8. DJ—“

“You’re really ruining my fake proposal here, dude.”

Chloe rolled her eyes. “You’re really not making it any better, _dude_.”

Beca’s eyes fell on the hand that still held Chloe’s, and Chloe gave it a small squeeze.

“Compromise. You keep yours. I’ll hyphenate.”

“Chloe Beale-Mitchell? I guess I like the sound of that.”

Yeah. So did Chloe.

“So…?” Chloe prodded.

Beca blushed, nodding furiously as she stumbled over words.

“Right, right. Fake proposal. Gotta commit to playing the part. Sorry.”

Chloe couldn’t help it. If Beca was going to fake propose to her, she wanted her to at least come up with a fake speech.

Even if just anticipating it was causing her body to almost start shaking.

“Chloe Elizabeth Beale. You are one of the weirdest people I have ever met. But I care about you so much that I don’t want to see you get sent back to Canada. And my end of the deal isn’t too bad either, I guess.”

The almost tender look in Beca’s eyes disarmed her. She wasn’t quite sure what she’d been expecting.

But it wasn’t something that sounded so…sincere.

“So, Chloe, will you green card marry me?”

She didn’t even think about it as she let a breathy “yes” fall from her lips.

Beca rose to her feet again and looked up at Chloe with another smirk that caused her heart to skip a beat again.

But whatever. It was still just a stupid crush.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you have it. Next chapter is where things get fun and the fake marriage and all that will entail begins. Also: as far as side pairings go, it's clear that y'all either want Jaubrey or Staubrey, because they each have four votes. SO. Comment on this chapter stating your preference, and the by the time I post chapter four, I'll have one picked. So comment! Kudos! Etc! Let me know what you think BECAUSE YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> remember that time it took me forever to update but you guys didn't hate me for it? lol good times.

She sat across from Aubrey in the coffee shop, fiddling with the cardboard sleeve over the cup as she waited for her friend to respond to her detailed summary of what had happened over the past 48 hours.

“So Mitchell finally admitted to her toner for you?”

Chloe frowned, cocking her head to the side. Surely that was not the only thing that Aubrey had gotten out of this? She looked so calm. Why wasn’t she freaking out? Chloe had thought this would have at least a 30% chance of causing Puke-gate part two.

“Wh—what?” Chloe stuttered. “Why are you not freaking out about this more? I came all the way up here to tell you this in person, so you wouldn’t flip out.”

Aubrey gave her a calming smile, reaching out a hand to place on top of Chloe’s.

“And I appreciate that very much. But honestly, I’m really not all that surprised.”

_What is happening right now?_

“Why not?” Chloe all but shrieked.

Aubrey only chuckled and shook her head, removing her hand from over Chloe’s and reaching for her coffee cup again with a sigh.

“Oh, sweetheart, you have that girl so whipped. You could tell her you wanted to go back to the uniforms and set list from her freshman year, and she’d do it for you.”

“Bree, that’s not—“

“I’m just saying I’m not surprised that Beca would agree to something this big to keep you around.”

Chloe rolled her eyes, doing her best not to betray the fact that her heart had skipped a beat at Aubrey’s words. _It’s just a stupid crush. It’s just a stupid crush._

Chloe quirked her eyebrow and replied sarcastically, “Because of her _toner_?”

Aubrey only responded by taking a sip of her coffee and shrugging.

“But what do I know, right?”

“She’s straight, Bree,” Chloe blurted out, causing half of the coffee shop to turn their heads.

She sighed and moved closer to Aubrey, muttering the next part of her sentence under her breath.

“And I’m… I don’t know. Bisexual, I guess? But regardless. I don’t think Beca’s as open-minded.”

“Are you saying you’d be into it if she was?”

Chloe gulped. _It’s just a stupid crush_ , she told herself for what felt like the hundredth time that morning. She was internally proud of herself for being able to verbalize some sort of label that felt more accurate as to what her sexual orientation was. Maybe the more she talked about it now, the more comfortable she’d be when she inevitably had to be more open about her and Beca’s sham marriage. Even if that’s all it was—just a sham. And besides, Beca didn’t—and never would—want her like that.

It’s just a stupid crush, and this marriage is just for show.

“No!” Chloe finally cried when Aubrey gave her a look telling her she’d been silent and lost in her own thoughts for too long. “Why does everyone keep trying to make this happen?”

“She must be more open-minded than you think if she agreed to marry you.”

“Just shut up,” Chloe snapped over her cup.

Aubrey smiled, and Chloe could tell her friend knew that the anger packed behind the comment was only half-hearted. 

“When’s the big day?” Aubrey quipped.

Chloe only rolled her eyes and wadded up a napkin to throw at her.

“Well, our ‘faux engagement,’,” she began, making sure to punctuate the words with air quotes, “as Amy insists on calling it has been going on for about a week now. We got our marriage license on Tuesday, so we just have to go to the courthouse and make it happen, I guess.”

“She didn’t have the decency to get you a nice ring?”

(That earned another eye roll from Chloe.)

“Oh, don’t worry. We have that part of the story covered: we’re recent college graduates, and we’re just so in love that we don’t need the symbol of an engagement ring. Not right now, at least. When we have money, Beca wants to get me one. But we didn’t want to wait, so here we are.”

Aubrey nodded slowly, never taking her eyes off Chloe, who was squirming a bit under her gaze as her mind wandered to the brief thought of Beca actually presenting her with diamond ring.

“That was actually…convincing.”

Chloe shrugged and continued.

“We’re going to the courthouse on Monday. The Bellas are all insisting on being there. Which isn’t the worst thing in the world since we need witnesses, and if one got to go without the other, all hell would break loose.”

“And I plan on being one of those witnesses,” Aubrey broke in.

Chloe scrunched her face at that. Surely Aubrey was only messing with her again.

“Aubrey—“

“Aca-scuse me? Green card marriage or not, do you truly not expect me to be their serving in a maid of honor capacity, official or not?”

She was oddly touched by the gesture. Throughout college they’d talked about this kind of thing—when they eventually got married and got to be in each other’s weddings, how Aubrey was already coming up with great ideas for floral arrangements and color coordination for the ceremony… and oh, would it be okay if she sung part of her maid of honor speech?

Aubrey must have been having a similar memory as she gave her a smile that could be described as nostalgic.

“Okay,” Chloe nodded. “Of course you can come.”

“Excellent,” Aubrey said, clapping her hands together excitedly. “Besides, all this commotion will give me a reason to come spend more time with all of you.”

“We weren’t good enough before?”

Aubrey shrugged.

“Not that. But now I’m certain that I’ll have something to manage. Maybe I’ll even get to play marriage counselor.”

Chloe rolled her eyes but knew that Aubrey was probably serious and coming from a place of concern. She knew that Stacie had been keeping her updating on the status of “Bechloe/Bhloe” while she was away running her retreat center. She’d never pushed Chloe on it, only mentioned it in passing, which was new for Aubrey. She was so used to having the blonde constantly push and pry and be overbearing. Not only had her transition into her post-graduate life calmed that, but she knew that Aubrey knew it was a delicate topic.

Chloe knew that because Aubrey had the same concerned look on her face she’d seen too many times when talking about her “abnormally intimate” (Aubrey’s description) friendship with Beca.

“You’re sure this is a good idea?”

No. She wasn’t. It might not be a good idea. Chloe thought back to the first time she saw that same look she’s getting from Aubrey right now. It was a couple weeks after their first ICCAs victory, when Chloe was scrolling through Facebook. In giant blue text and already 59 likes were the words:

               _Beca Mitchell is in a relationship with Jesse Swanson._

Chloe had shrugged off Aubrey’s concern at the time (which was more worry and disapproval than friendly concern at that point) as being shocked that she had had to find out that they were “official” via social media. And she was. Chloe had thought she and Beca were closer than that.

In hindsight, Chloe wondered if maybe there was more to it than that.

“I don’t have much of a choice here,” she mutters.

“I know. But I know you, Chloe, and when you do something, you don’t half-ass it. You’re sure that you won’t start getting confused by being quote unquote married to Beca?”

“It’s strictly platonic. It’s not a big deal.”

Chloe can’t decide if she’s saying it more to convince Aubrey or herself.

Aubrey studies her, taking another long sip of her coffee (Chloe’s sure she does it more for effect than anything because there’s no way it’s not cold at this point) and shaking her head.

“Why is it that everyone else sees it but you two?”

Chloe’s heart stopped.

They’d talked about this but only in passing. For four years, Chloe and Aubrey had just danced around the topic—Aubrey asking how the group was doing and specifically asking about Beca or a few bold questions about just how close they were. But Aubrey looked like she was a woman on a mission right now, and she wasn’t going to stop until she got answers.

So much for not being pushy.

“Aubrey, it’s not a thing, okay? You can be a little less than platonic with your best friends and get away with it, right?”

Aubrey narrowed her eyes, taking a moment to plot her response, and Chloe knew she was going to have to think quickly to get out of this one.

“I don’t see you looking at me the way Amy looked at that cheesecake that Ashley made at Thanksgiving that one year. Or Bumper.”

Chloe rolled her eyes, laughed, made an over-the-top gesture with her hands. She doesn’t look at Beca like that. Whatever _like that_ even is.

“I do not look at Beca like that. That’s just gross.”

Aubrey looked at her harder, if that was even possible. Didn’t her eyes hurt? She looked at Chloe like she’s willing something out of her and shit, doesn’t that hurt her face?

Chloe started fidgeting with the sleeve of her coffee cup even more.

“Why did you intentionally fail Russian Lit three times? You’ve tried playing the dumb card like Stacie does, but we all know you’re brilliant, Chlo. Why did you self-sabotage for three years?”

“To be a Bella. They’re family.”

(Her go-to answer. It made sense. And it was true.)

“Then why’d you choose to leave this year?”

 “Because I did have to move on eventually. And everyone else was graduating. It won’t be the same because there will be a whole new group next year.”

“You still have the Legacy,” Aubrey shot back.

“It’s not the same.”

But Aubrey kept pushing.

“Why not?”

“Aubrey—“

“You could have stayed again, had a whole new group to work with from the ground up to help carry on the Bella legacy.”

Chloe bit her lip and looked down. Well that was easy enough to answer. She was 25 now. She couldn’t stay in undergrad forever. Everyone else was leaving, and if she had given in to the temptation of staying another round to “help carry on the Bella legacy,” then who knows when she’d end up graduating. But that’s not even a valid argument she can make.

There was no temptation to stay anymore.

Instead, Chloe shrugged.

“I didn’t want to.”

“Because you’re attached to the group you’ve been with for three years.”

“Yes.”

“Because you didn’t want to be in the Bellas if it meant Beca wasn’t going to be there.”

Chloe hadn’t wanted to leave the Bellas. Beca was a part of the Bellas. Therefore it stood to reason that…

“Yes.”

Chloe looked back up at Aubrey to see a surprised look on her face. Not surprised by the fact of the admission but by the admission itself, probably. Chloe could see the wheels turning in Aubrey’s head as the blonde kept looking at her, either waiting for her to continue or thinking of adding more input/

Suddenly Chloe felt the urge to get up and leave. The look Aubrey kept giving her made her feel like she was under a microscope, like she was being probed. And as much as Chloe overshared with others, she felt her stomach churning knowing that this conversation wasn’t close to over yet.

“No. I mean, sure,” she continued, stumbling over words. “But it’d be the same for Amy or Cynthia Rose or Stacie. We’ve been through so much together.”

Aubrey narrowed her gaze.

“So if everyone else stayed, but Beca didn’t, you’d still stay in the Bellas?”

Well, that depended on where Beca went. How far away was she going? Was she in Atlanta working at the studio? Was she in LA? Was she still at Barden and involved with helping with the Bellas but not actually _in_ the group?

(Chloe didn’t realize she’d been thinking out loud.)

Aubrey didn’t even bother answering. She just kept staring at Chloe as she seemed incapable of not spilling everything anymore.

It was exhausting really. Even if it had just been a meaningless crush, Chloe had been holding in her attraction to Beca for years, never telling anyone. She’d never gotten to drunkenly mention it to Aubrey or Stacie or anyone, never got to have a good laugh about it and move on. And maybe it just felt like so much more than it really was because it was such a secret.

 “I—I’ve had this stupid little crush on her since right before our first ICCAs win. And then Jesse happened, and well, I figured it was just some stupid unrequited thing, and I could admire her like that from afar and still be her best friend. So that’s all it is. A stupid, meaningless crush.”

“That you’ve had for three years,” Aubrey replied without missing a beat.

Well, Chloe probably hadn’t been the only one who knew about her (completely harmless) feelings for Beca. She could tell that Aubrey had known for awhile by the way she was responding. Chloe wasn’t surprised either. They’d only danced around the topic since her crush started. Aubrey could read every bit of Chloe—from the playful and cheery façade she gave off to hide how much pressure she felt from her family for academic success to how she’d silently pined over Beca for three years. There wasn’t much about Chloe that could surprise Aubrey anymore.

“It’s harmless.”

“I’m not sure about that, considering you don’t look very happy right now.”

No, she wasn’t happy. She wasn’t happy she had to talk about it. She wasn’t happy that Aubrey was pushing the subject. She wasn’t happy that she’d made not-so-subtle comments to Beca in the past about experimenting only to be met with eye rolls and snarky comments about how weird she was.

“If she’d wanted something to happen, it would have,” she shrugged, letting the words fall out without thinking.

Aubrey’s eyebrows rose.

(Maybe some things about Chloe could still surprise her best friend a little.)

 “What do you mean?”

“This spring, when we came to visit you, I was talking to her in the tent about how I wished I’d experimented more in college. I thought I made it pretty obvious, and she just looked at me like I was crazy.”

Aubrey let out a heavy sigh.

“Chloe, you propositioned her in a way that probably sounded like a joke in a tent full of several other girls. What did you think was going to happen?”

Chloe groaned and let her face fall into her hands. It really did sound kind of stupid when she heard it out loud. Apparently she wasn’t even good at half-jokingly making a move. How was she supposed to pretend to be married to the girl?

“I don’t know! She was so close to me, and it just kind of spilled out. It’s just kind of our normal banter.”

“Your normal, extremely gay banter.”

“Bree—“

Aubrey smiled sadly, taking one of Chloe’s hands in hers again.

“I just don’t want this to turn into more than you can handle, Chlo.”

“I know I can’t have her. It’s a stupid crush. And I’d never sacrifice my friendship with Beca over that. That is nothing compared to our friendship.”

_It’s just a stupid crush. It’s just a stupid crush._

“Okay. I believe you. But know I will be around, serving as a marriage counselor.”

“I don’t know that marriage is the same as Fortune 500 companies.”

“I’ll figure it out.”

Chloe wasn’t sure she could do the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so y'all should know that the next chapter is half-written already because I promised myself I wouldn't string people along again and post this and then have nothing to go off of for the next chapter and be tempted to not update for a long time again.

**Author's Note:**

> Well, 3805 words later (which was way longer than I anticipated because that's how it always works), there ya go. Already working on the second chapter seeing as I'm currently snowed in at my apartment right now. Please comment and kudos and tell me your thoughts! (also, if you guys feel strongly about there being any side pairings, let me know! I want suggestions.)


End file.
